Chapter Text
Dubai, 2022
Either Louis was unaware of the existence of the cloud or this was the pyrokinetic vampire equivalent of giving the middle finger, and as Daniel fanned out the last of the flames on his expensive as shit laptop, he got the distinct impression it was the latter.
Asshole .
He liked to think if he said it loud enough in his head, Louis would get the message.
Part of him had been tempted to call his bluff; to walk away and leave the whole building to go up in smoke. But there was probably some kind of impenetrable insurance policy they could claim, and he’d lose several shirts and his good dinner jacket. Did vampires even take out insurance policies? Switch companies every few decades to cover up the whole living for centuries thing? Does a 145 year old immortal still have life insurance? Dammit, he had so many follow up questions. He grabbed the nearest notepad left untouched by Louis’ arson attempt and scribbled ‘insurance fraud??’ before leaving to pack his bags.
Twenty minutes later and booking details for a flight to New York dropped into his inbox, first class, courtesy of Mr De Pointe Du Lac. A car was being sent for him at 6pm, leaving him with a few hours to idle around the penthouse gathering up his scattered belongings.
It was dark, and silent save for the usual creaking and groaning of the building shifting. The staff had quickly made themselves scarce, and he assumed Armand had found himself a nice dark hole somewhere to crawl into, but when he returned to the table for his slightly charred laptop, the lingering scent of blood and flames had been replaced by the distinctive scent of clove cigarettes. Against the advice of all his survival instincts, Daniel followed the trail like a bloodhound, stopping in his tracks when he saw the dark shape of Armand backlit by the orange glow of the evening sky, sitting with his back to the wall in the same spot they’d left him in several hours ago.
“You’re still here.”
“Mm.” Was all he got by way of response.
He should leave. He should get as far away as possible. But instead he found himself rooted to the spot, heart hammering in his chest and probably sending out a siren song to the killing machine sitting a few feet away from him. When was the last time he’d been out to feed again?
He flinched when Armand shifted, watching him like an antelope might watch an approaching lion, but instead of letting out a guttural roar, Armand just sighed and took another drag of his cigarette.
“I’m not going to harm you, Daniel.”
An image flashed across his mind then. Messy curls. Fiery eyes. Hands cupping his face . He blinked them away quickly.
“You said the same thing to Louis.”
“And I never hurt him.”
“You orchestrated his murder.”
“Louis was never going to die on that stage, Mr Molloy.” Armand’s eyes burned in the darkness, but his voice was cool as ever. “I knew Lestat would intervene. It’s in his nature.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, pal.”
Maybe it was a trick of the light, the flickering glow from his cigarette casting shadows across his face, but Daniel could swear he saw a smile ghosting across Armand’s lips.
I’m not going to harm you . Yeah, he’d believe that when he saw it. But he did believe it, he realised. His heart rate had settled, and his brain had stopped screaming at him to make a break for it. Instead, he lingered, watching with morbid fascination as Armand stubbed one cigarette out on the concrete floor and immediately pulled out another.
“Didn’t have you pegged as a stress smoker.”
“It passes the time.” He shrugged, turning the box over in his hands a few times. “I suppose there could be something poetic about a vampire with a taste for the fire.”
“Uh huh.” Daniel folded his arms. “Or maybe you’re just a melodramatic prick with a nicotine addiction.”
Another ghost of a smile. “Maybe.”
The silence that fell wasn’t exactly comfortable, but the atmosphere had shifted. It was the most at ease he’d seen Armand look during his time in Dubai. Ironic, considering he was still sitting amongst the rubble from his little domestic spat, but he looked almost peaceful, eyes half shut with smoke curling lazily around him.
“You know,” Daniel took a step towards him. “I don’t think Louis was kidding about wanting you out of here before he gets back.”
“No. He wasn’t.”
“So, why are you still here?”
Armand laughed. Well, a single, forceful exhale that could have been a laugh, but could just have easily been an attempt at stifling a cough.
“He’s not out for a walk around the block, Daniel.” Messy curls, breathless laugh, fangs exposed. “I imagine he’s already on a plane to New Orleans. It’ll be months before he gets back. Years even.” He paused, seeming to mull something over in his head. “Besides, if it was a quick exit he wanted, then perhaps he should have thought about that before throwing me into ten inches of solid concrete.”
His head was a mess of unwanted images, and it took him a second to muddle through and process Armand’s words.
“You can’t move.”
“I can, but it might aggravate the fractured hip.” He stubbed out his second cigarette, toying with the pack for a moment before setting it down. “My diary for the coming week is decidedly empty, so I’m thinking of it as an overdue sabbatical.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Fifty years of award winning journalism, and your most pressing question is ‘does that broken bone hurt?’”
“I’m off the clock, asshole.”
“You never learned how to switch off that inquisitive mind, did you? Always another question. You haven’t changed, Daniel.”
Messy curls. Purple bite marks on dark skin. He watched, fascinated, as they faded to nothing in seconds. He persisted. Determined to leave a permanent mark. Mine.
“Stop!” He yelled, dragging a hand down his face, trying to scrub the image from his brain.
Armand looked genuinely taken aback, eyebrows knitted together, head cocked inquisitively. The faux innocence only served to piss him off more.
“I’m done with you and your fucking boyfriend poking around in my head.” He marched over to him, the lingering fear replaced with anger. It was almost funny how small Armand looked when Daniel stood over him. “I’m done. I’m gonna get on that fancy ass plane and never see you again.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“And I’m gonna order everything on that in-flight menu. Because fuck you. And I’m taking these ” He stooped down and snatched Armand’s cigarettes. “Because fuck you.”
Daniel expected him to come out with some dry remark, but he stayed silent, his eyes burning right through him. He could feel them even after he’d left the room, even as he walked, suitcase in hand, past him to the elevator. Armand waited until the doors were an inch away from closing before calling out “Safe flight”, leaving Daniel no time to flip him off.
Prick .
He couldn’t help but wonder if Louis had intentionally hired his most talkative driver as a final fuck you, or if maybe Armand had put some vampiric curse on him, but the guy talked his ear off all the way from the penthouse to the airport, even following him all the way to the security gates with his bags. After the last couple of weeks, he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to talk to another person again, and it was bliss when he finally joined the queue of like minded flyers doing everything in their power to avoid eye contact with one another.
The problem with having nobody to talk to, of course, was that his mind was now free to wander, and it wandered straight back to that penthouse. Maybe he should have stayed. Should have pressed Armand for a solo interview. Surely he’d want to explain himself after having his decades of lies uncovered. But then, knowing what he did about that vampire, he’d probably just spin brand new lies to cover up the old ones. He couldn’t trust a single word Armand had said, on or off record.
The queue shuffled forward, a guy more suited to underground fighting rings than airport security stared him down while he dumped his bag and shoes, the queue shuffled forward. He was mostly in a haze of his own thoughts until the metal detector blared at him, snapping him back to reality.
“Give me a fucking break,” He muttered as a woman escorted him off to the side, stepping back so her burly coworker could pat him down. Now that took him back.
The guy hit the jackpot when he reached the back pocket of his jeans, making a weird amount of eye contact with him as he dug around and fished out the pack of cigarettes he’d stolen from Armand.
“Would you believe me if I said I was holding on to those for a friend?”
That earned him an unimpressed quirk of an eyebrow and a sigh that said ‘I don’t get paid enough for this bullshit’. With a practised flick of his wrist he upended the contents of the box into his palm. Four cigarettes and a flash of gold.
“The hell is this?” He asked, holding the necklace up to inspect it.
“That’s not… Let me see that.”
Daniel snatched the necklace with reflexes he didn’t know he still possessed. A cursive letter A was engraved on the back of the diamond shaped pendant. No, there was a clasp on the side. It was a locket. Who the hell keeps a locket with their cigarettes. The insane thought crossed his mind that Armand had wanted him to find it, and as he fumbled with the clasp he racked his brain, trying to imagine what sadistic thing a vampire like Armand might be keeping inside. A lock of Louis’ hair? That felt too pedestrian. Maybe one of his toenails.
It wasn’t a toenail, thank god, but a tiny vial of bright red liquid. Recently filled, if the wet smear on the cap was anything to go by. A smudge came off on his thumb and he licked it off without thinking, cringing at the sweet, coppery taste of blood on his tongue.
San Francisco, 1975
Armand was distracted, his eyes fixed on a fox sniffing at the tarmac a few feet away. Sensing an opportunity, Daniel made another break for the door handle but was quickly apprehended as Armand caught his wrist, pinning him back into the driver's seat and kissing him fiercely.
“Gonna… make me… miss my flight,” Daniel protested between kisses, feeling the smile that spread across Armand’s lips.
“That would be a shame.”
“ Armand. ”
He sat back with a sigh, eyelids fluttering shut, forehead creasing, and then a twitch in the corner of his mouth. Smug bastard .
“A technical glitch at Air Traffic Control. Forty minute delay. Seems you have time to kill.”
Daniel frowned at him to let him know he disapproved of using his ancient powers to disrupt airport safety protocols, then pulled him down for another kiss.
“You realise you can literally stop time, right?”
“That requires concentration.”
“Oh?” He cocked his head. “Am I breaking your concentration?”
Humming, Armand kissed him again and sat upright. Daniel loved him like this; dark curls falling in his face, eyes bright and cheeks flushed from a recent kill. Of course Armand knew this, practically preening in the dim light of the parking lot. He'd made no effort to hide his bitterness about the trip, and tonight he'd pulled out all the stops in an attempt to keep him in California.
“You could stay.”
It was impossible to tell these days whether Armand was picking his brain, or if he was just getting really good at reading him.
“You could come with me,” He countered and Armand huffed like a toddler.
“You know I can’t.”
“Why not? Just tell him you've got some vampire shit to do and you’ll be out of town for a couple weeks.”
“I don’t like lying to him,” Armand said bluntly.
“Uh huh.” He laughed. “And where does he think you are tonight? Yoga class?”
Armand’s mouth pressed into a hard line, eyes flickering in annoyance. It might have been scary if he didn’t find it so hot.
“I have something for you.” Quick to switch the subject, Armand reached for the jacket he’d haphazardly tossed onto the backseat half an hour ago, and Daniel took the opportunity to press a kiss to his exposed throat. Grazing his teeth over the spot that made the vampire shiver and grind down on his lap, wishing he had the means to break the skin and feel his honey sweet blood on his tongue.
“Not tonight, love,” Armand breathed against his ear. “Not when you’re going away for so long.”
“It’s two weeks. That’s nothing for you.”
“It’s not me I worry about. You’ll go mad for it.”
“Pretty sure that ship already-”
Armand silenced him with a finger to his lips and took his hand.
“Take this,” He said as he dropped a chain into his open palm. “And keep it with you.”
“What is it?”
He turned the necklace over in his hand, rubbing his thumb over the engraved initial and snapping the clasp open. Cushioned in a lining of purple velvet there was a tiny vial, no bigger than his pinky nail, with what could only be one or two drops of the dark red liquid he’d grown all too familiar with.
“In-flight snack?”
“I’m not familiar with the vampires in the Southeast,” Armand said, his voice low. “But, if you encounter any, break the vial. They’ll know you’re under my protection.”
“There are vampires in Vietnam?”
“Daniel.” Armand tilted his chin up to look at him. The gesture was gentle, but the grip on his jaw was vice-like. “Promise me you won’t go looking for them.”
“It’s an active warzone, babe, that’s hardly gonna be my biggest-”
“ Promise me .”
With a sigh, he nodded, and Armand’s gaze softened again. He took the locket from Daniel’s hand and clasped it around his neck.
“Wear it always,” He instructed. “And hurry home. I love you desperately.”
Lips on his, the click of the door, and Daniel was alone in his car again.
Dubai, 2022
“Sir, you’re holding up the line.”
Daniel tore his eyes away from the tiny vial of blood in his palm, glancing over his shoulder at the line of disgruntled people waiting for him to haul ass and sighing. He’d been so looking forward to those in-flight cocktails.
“I think I’m gonna need my shoes back.”
…
He probably should have been surprised when he saw the driver waiting for him outside the airport, or when someone arrived to open his door and escort him back up to the penthouse. Maybe he was growing accustomed to life amongst vampires. Or maybe he was just way past giving a shit.
Armand had created what he could only describe as a nest while he'd been away, with several pillows piled up around him, a stack of books, and his tablet resting on his knee, which he continued tapping idly at as Daniel approached him.
“Can’t get up, my ass.” He folded his arms. “Where’d you get all this shit?”
Armand looked up at him then, blinking slowly.
“I can move things with my mind, Mr Molloy.”
They held eye contact for a few seconds until Daniel finally looked away, defeated, catching a brief glimpse of that smug smile.
“Was there a problem at the airport?”
“Fuck you.” Daniel tossed the necklace at his feet and Armand winced slightly as he bent to pick it up, turning it over in his hand with what could almost have been tenderness.
“It’s yours,” He said, holding it back out to him. Daniel ignored him.
“That’s fresh blood.”
“Yes.”
“ Why? ” The question came out more desperate than he’d intended. He lowered himself to the ground, sitting cross legged opposite the vampire and looking him up and down. “I saw… something .” Messy curls. Blood hot lips. “And I don’t know if it was real or if you’re just getting off on fucking with my head.”
“You’re mortal. I can’t reach your mind from that distance.”
He wanted to argue more but his head was spinning, and the way Armand was looking at him wasn’t helping. He’d seen him playing up the hurt, anguished act before, but this was different, less exaggerated. A subtle crease between the eyebrows, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. He looked genuinely concerned, and that was fucking him up more than any set of teeth in his neck ever could.
“Perhaps you should-”
“If you say ‘rest’ I’m gonna break your other leg.”
A knowing smile, a shrug of the shoulders, Armand looked down at the IPad in his lap. “You’re welcome to stay here, of course, but I can arrange a room for you if you’d prefer. There’s a hotel twenty miles west of here that comes highly recommended. Beachside views. Access to a pool and a gym, should you feel so inclined.”
“I left my speedos and leg warmers at home,” Daniel muttered, coaxing another smile from him.
“Well, you know where your room is.” He folded his IPad case shut and looked back up at him. “Sadly, I’m between staff at the moment, so if you need anything-”
“I’ll think about it very loudly.”
“Mm. Sleep well.”
Daniel got up, pausing again in the doorway. “You gonna let me leave in the morning?”
“You’ve never been a prisoner here, Mr Molloy. You chose to come back.”
He could have gone on at length about Armand’s bullshit manipulation scheme, but he was tired, so he let it lie.
“I still have questions,” He said and Armand nodded.
“And I’ll be happy to give you answers.” The corner of his mouth curled upwards. “All you have to do is ask.”